Warriors drop opener at Lyons Township

By Matt Le Cren

It was the season opener. Both squads were missing several key players. Both are trying to replace graduated stars now playing for Big Ten schools.

So the quality of play left something to be desired, right?

Wrong. Playing in front of an unusually large crowd enticed by an unseasonably mild day, host Lyons and reigning state champion Waubonsie Valley put on a show Thursday. When it was over Waubonsie had shown it still has plenty of firepower despite the graduation of Vanessa DiBernardo and the Lions had exacted a measure of revenge for last year’s 1-0 supersectional loss.

Senior Kelsey Holbert scored off a give-and-go from Mackie Furlong 1:51 into the second half and LT’s strong defense made it stand up in a 1-0 victory at Bennett Field in Western Springs.

“They lost Vanessa but they’re definitely still a tough team and we knew that going in,” Holbert said. “I think that we’re definitely going to be up there. [In recent] seasons we played really well and come up short and I think tonight was a good indicator [of] we didn’t play too well but we fought through it and [won]. So I think we have a tough team and we all really want it.”

The Lions (1-0) were missing five players, including star stopper Elise Gordon, who is out for a week or so with a strained hamstring. They also had faced the prospect of starting the season without the talented Holbert, who had an MRI on her left knee last week.

“They told me I couldn’t play on Monday and just yesterday I found out I could play,” Holbert said. “The MRI was clean. They thought there was something structurally wrong but it’s just tendinitis. So we were shifting the lineup and Elise was out and we had a couple other players hurt and gone.

“This whole week we’ve been practically trying to figure things out and everyone stepped up and I think with Elise and I out some of the other seniors stepped up and just took leadership and it showed tonight.”

As she so often does, Holbert came through by scoring the game’s only goal. The Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee sent a lead pass up the right wing to Furlong, who cut back into the box before sliding a pass back to Holbert racing up the middle.

Holbert’s shot from 15 yards out deflected off a Waubonsie defender and inside the right post at the 38:09 mark of the second half.

“Mackie made a great move to cut that ball back and then get that service in too,” LT coach Bill Lanspeary said. “It was an unbelievable start to the season. All the kids played their butts off and played a lot of minutes. Like I told the kids, it doesn’t get much bigger than this for a regular season win.”

While Holbert made some dangerous runs, including one in the first half in which she reversed field three times to shake defenders before putting a shot just wide of the left post, it was the defense that won the game for LT, which was outshot 13-6, including 8-2 in the second half.

With Gordon out, sophomore Ari Kowalski moved from left back into the middle to join forces with Sarah Mazur, while Emma Meyering and Anna Devine took care of the flanks.

“I’d say our back four gets MVP this game,” Holbert said. “Mazur kept it clean and Ari wins the ball all the time. Maggie, she did an awesome job.”

Maggie is goalie Maggie Orlowski, who was stellar in her first varsity start. The junior made eight saves, including two big ones in the first half on Waubonsie freshman Kristen Dodson.

Dodson’s first chance came with 27:10 left when she made a 35-yard run into the box on a partial breakaway, only to see Orlowski charge off her line and deflect Dodson’s shot over the end line.

Then at the 23:50 mark, Dodson was tripped in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Orlowski dove to her left to make the stop and keep the game scoreless.

“Really I was just thinking don’t screw up,” said Orlowski, who never guesses on such plays. “I was trying to stay calm. I was just trying my best to keep my eyes on the ball.

“They’re always aggravating and you’re always so anxious. You never get used to it. I was only following the ball. That’s my technique. It’s been working so far.”

Orlowski’s stop seemed to fire up the Lions, who played better over the next 20 minutes before Waubonsie(0-1) started putting the pressure on. She made four more saves after intermission, the toughest of which came on a 23-yard blast by Megan Green that she deflected into the crossbar with 17:15 remaining.

“[The defenders] helped me out big time,” Orlowski said. “I couldn’t do it without them They were doing an amazing job and I need them on my side all the time.”

Green and fellow senior Hannah Klancic both had multiple scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes but either missed or were stymied by Orlowski. Despite the loss, which snapped the Warriors’ 17-game unbeaten streak, Waubonsie coach Julie Bergstrom liked what she saw.

“It’s the first game. You’re playing a team on their home field and we’ve got a lot of new faces,” Bergstrom said. “But I was pleased with what happened. We made a lot of good things happen. We just didn’t get a goal. They did.”

The Warriors, who lost for just the sixth time in the past five seasons, were without three key returning starters. Sophomore Rachele Armand is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in practice two weeks ago. Junior Shannon Donelson is sideline with a knee injury and sophomore Jenna Romano was in Europe playing with a regional ODP team.

“We have a lot of freshmen that are starting,” Green said. “We came out on fire. We possessed the ball pretty well. They just capitalized on their one opportunity.”

Replacing DiBernardo will be impossible but Green is confident the Warriors can still mount an effective attack.

“I don’t really think there’s like one person,” Green said. “She’s a really hard player to replace, but we’ve been working on combinations and stuff and getting that chemistry up top.

I’m excited for the challenge. The five seniors we all have to step up and fill our leadership role.”

The Lions are facing a similar challenge after graduating star midfielder Katie Nasenbenny, now at Iowa.

“I think we’re going to have to rely on [defense],” Lanspeary said. “We’ve got a lot of young players up top that do a pretty nice job. They’ve got to do a lot of growing and are going to have to do it pretty fast.”

Two of those players are Furlong and fellow junior Juliet Lusson, who move into starting roles after coming off the bench last season. Lanspeary was impressed with their play in the midfield, though they gave him a scare when both went down simultaneously on different sides of the field with 12:38 remaining.

Though neither returned, their injuries turned out to be just calf cramps, something that knocked Holbert out of the game in the final minute.

“We’ll make sure they’re hydrated,” Lanspeary said. “As it is our bench isn’t real deep this year at this point.”

But confidence is following the big victory.

“We are all pretty excited,” Orlowski said. “It was great to get a win under your belt and we’re just glad we got revenge on them for last year. It’s a great feeling.”